


Dr Carter Will See You Now

by bafflethemwithbullshit



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Everyone's there, F/F, F/M, Modern AU, angie's here don't worry, everyone's a family at shield memorial, peggy's a neurosurgeon, steve's a trauma surgeon, the whole gang - Freeform, ward is an idiot with an attitude problem
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-01 22:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13304661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bafflethemwithbullshit/pseuds/bafflethemwithbullshit
Summary: Steve's life was going pretty well at Shield Memorial Hospital. He had a great job as the head of the Trauma Department, he had great friends and everything was going smoothly.That was until another surgeon stormed her way through the hospital like it was nobody's business. That surgeon was Peggy Carter. Will the two of them be able to get along? Or will their personalities clash in a series of different opinions and misunderstandings?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> What's up, I'm back with another story I may not finish.
> 
> Modern Day Steggy fics are my favourite, so I thought I'd make one of my own.
> 
> I do apologise for any misinformation in this story, I never went to medical school so I'm just using Google. I'm gonna try not to use much in the story anyway.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

"What about Sarah from radiology?"

Steve sighed as his best friend Bucky came up behind him at the nurses station in the E.R. He was updating his patient's chart on the tablet in front of him as Bucky winked at the nurse sitting behind the desk.

"Let it go, Buck," Steve replied, not looking up at him.

"Come on, man, you need to get your feet wet," Bucky groaned "When was the last time you got laid, huh?"

"Bucky," Steve looked at him and shrugged slightly "Not interested,"

Bucky rolled his eyes "All I'm saying is that you need a little fun in your life, that's all,"

"I have fun," Steve defended, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Yeah, with me," Bucky replied and kept talking. He zoned out.

Bucky and Steve had been best friends since they were kids, and he never let Steve do his own thing. He always had to meddle, and even if it were coming from a good place, Steve got annoyed sometimes.

"You still ridin' him, Barnes?" someone finally interrupted the man, making them both look to the voice.

"Oh, Natasha, I do it out of love," Bucky smirked at her.

"Mhm," Natasha grabbed her tablet from the station "Hey, Rogers, how'd the guy with the knife in his head turn out?"

"Miraculously, fully functional," said Steve, putting his tablet down to look at her "Stitched and bandaged him up and he was on his way,"

"Amazing," Natasha chuckled.

"Guy had had more alcohol than an Irish on St Patty's Day," Bucky chimed in "He probably couldn't even feel it,"

"Well, he was lucky, that's for damn sure," Steve said, shaking his head in disbelief "I've never seen anyone walk away from a wound like that without any sort of mental deficit,"

"And people say that booze is bad for you," Natasha smirked "Saved his life,"

"Somethin' tells me booze was what got him in that situation in the first place," Bucky smirked back at her.

Steve looked between the two and shook his head, those two were going to be the death of him. Maria had once told him they just needed to bang and get it over with, to which he immediately disagreed, being an old-fashioned guy himself. But whenever they did this, he couldn't help but change his tune.

"Anyway," Steve shifted on the spot and grabbed in tablet "I have patients," and just left them to it as he walked towards the next patient. Pulling back the curtain, he smiled at the young boy in the bed with what appeared to be a broken wrist "Hey there,"

* * *

Peggy knocked on the door, her shoulders square and he chin up.

"Come in,"

She opened the door and stepped inside slightly, not wanting to intrude, but also making her presence well-known. The man behind the desk cracked a grin.

"Chief Fury,"

"Carter," he said, standing in his chair and walking around his desk to greet her with a handshake "I heard you might be coming to my neck of the woods,"

"Yes, well, as much as I loved New York, I think a change may be in order," she responded with a smile.

Fury gestured for the seat in front of his desk as he walked back to his own chair and sat back down "I heard about your spinal tumour," he said as she took a seat of her own "Very impressive, but not the least bit surprising,"

"I'm sure many other surgeons could have done the same thing," Peggy shrugged off.

"A twenty seven hour surgery that had a high risk of mortality or paralysis, behind Chief Phillips' back, and you're telling me another surgeon could've pulled that off?"

Peggy bit back a smile "I just did what was best for my patient,"

Fury snorted "And almost got yourself fired in the process," he said as she shook his head "So why now, why here?"

Peggy shrugged slightly, as much as Peggy Carter shrugs anyway "Like I said, I just needed a change,"

"I've been trying to steal you ever since I got this gig," Fury said, leaning back in his hair, his one eye looking at her "You've always turned me down,"

Peggy's face stayed neutral "Yes, well, life does work in mysterious ways,"

Fury knew Peggy, so he knew there was more to the story than what she was telling. But he also knew the harder you pushed, the less you got. So he backed off, she would come to him in her own time.

"Well, I need a new head of Neuro, so if you're willing to come back, there's a spot open for you," Fury said, leaning forward "So, are you in?"

Peggy gave him a warm smile "I'm in," Peggy replied.

Fury have a triumphant smile "Excellent," he said "Now, how long do you need to get your things to LA?"

"My belongings are being shipped as we speak," Peggy responded, making Fury shake his head with a smirk.

"We've made some upgrades ever since you left, you might want to have a look around to find everything before you start," Fury said.

"And when is that exactly?" Peggy asked.

"It's Friday today, so Monday," Fury replied, making her nod.

"I'll be here," Peggy responded as stood up, making Fury do the same "It's good to see you Nicholas,"

"You too, Peggy," Nick held his hand out to shake hers, before she made her way to the door, only to stop and turn back when he spoke "You knew there'd be a job here for you, didn't you?"

Peggy gave him a small grin "I would never assume such a thing," and with that, she walked out the door. She walked along the boardwalk that overlooked the lower level of the hospital, looking out as she did.

Not a lot had changed since she'd left, but Peggy Carter was anything but unprepared, so she walked around trying to find anything that was different. There was new equipment and fresh faces, in fact she didn't recognise anyone.

She made her way around the hospital, and eventually got herself to the E.R. It was busy, but it was intense. There were nurses running around, trying to help the doctors. There were people yelling and she couldn't really distinguish one from the other, except for one.

"WHERE'S NEURO?! PAGE NEURO NOW!"

"I did, Doctor!"

"THEN PAGE THEM AGAIN!"

Peggy ran straight over, she may not have started yet, but someone needed help.

"What's the situation?" she asked, making the man look up at her.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked. Peggy paused, giving him a hard look.

"Someone who came when no one else would, so tell me Doctor, what's the situation?" she responded, her voice was as hard as her eyes as she snatched some gloves.

Peggy looked down at the patient as she grabbed the other doctor's light from his coat pocket "She just seized and then passed out, before she was saying she could feel the left side of her body tingling,"

"And what does that tell you?" Peggy asked as she looked from the young woman's eyes, watching her pupils. When the doctor said nothing, she looked up at him "What's your name?"

"Grant Ward," the man said "I'm a second year resident,"

Peggy pushed him out the way to lay the bed down flat "A second year resident should know that non-reactive pupils, combined with numbness on one side of the body and facial paralysis means that there is a blood clot in the patient's brain, go get me a gown,"

Ward just stood there, looking like an idiot as Peggy gloved herslef up and positioned her paitent properly "Now Ward!"

Ward quickly took off to get her a gown as she searched for a tray of instruments. She found one on a table for the bed next to her as Ward came back with a gown.

"What are you going to do?" Ward asked.

"I'm going to relieve the pressure," Peggy responded, picking up a scalpel "I need a neuro drill, go get me one,"

"You're going to do it here?" Ward asked, his eyes wide "You're batshit crazy!"

"Yes, here! We don't have time to get to the O.R!" Peggy yelled at him "Now go get me a bloody drill and hurry!"

Ward took off as Peggy grabbed a whole bunch of gauze and sat them next to her, ready to grab. She positioned the girl's head to the side, her temple facing up, and took a hold of the scalpel on the tray.

She cut into the girl's temple, making it bleed heavily. She sliced deep, hitting the temporal bone, and measuring with her eyes where to cut next.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she heard a man yell from next to her.

Peggy didn't answer him, she just applied pressure to slow down the bleeding, ready to make the next cut when Ward came racing back with the drill.

"Ward! What the hell?!" The man was still yelling, not knowing what was going on.

"Doctor Ward, close the curtain please," Peggy said calmly, steadying the drill on the girl's temporal bone.

"No, Ward, don't!"

Peggy looked up at the other man, reading his name on his coat before saying "Doctor Rogers, you can either get in here and help me or you can leave, either way I'm drilling into her brain,"

The man hesitated, not knowing what to do, but decided to help. It was clear she was going to do it anyway.

"You need to be in an O.R for this," he said lowly.

"And if you had a competent resident, we may have had time to get there," Peggy said, steadying the drill on the temporal bone before drilling through.

* * *

Fury looked up from his desk as Steve barged his way through the door of his office, Peggy trailing behind him, both in navy blue scrubs. He was clearly not happy, and of course Peggy's face was unreadable,.

"Chief!" Steve started.

Fury looked straight at Peggy "What did you do?"

Peggy shrugged slightly as Steve answered instead "She performed an unauthorised craniotomy on a patient in the middle of the E.R. with no one to help her,"

Peggy stayed silent at the last comment, but Nick snorted at him "Doctor Rogers, head of Trauma, meet Peggy Carter, our new Head of Neuro,"

Steve took a double-take at the name. He'd read everything she'd ever published, but he'd never seen her face. She'd won multiple awards over the years, she was a legend in the medical field. She was definitely not who he was expecting.

"Whatever the case," Steve started "That girl could've been killed,"

"Doctor Rogers, if I had not performed a craniotomy when I had, that young girl would be dead right now," Peggy finally spoke "What I don't understand is why the only person next to a car crash victim was an incompetent second year resident with an attitude problem,"

"You can't just walk in here, expecting to be given privileges-"

"She has the privileges," Nick cut him off, standing from behind his desk "Is the patient okay?"

"We won't know until she wakes up what kind of deficits she suffered," Peggy explained "But she made it, yes,"

"You got lucky," Steve said, his arms folding over his chest.

Peggy turned to him "And if she were waiting on you, she would be dead right now," she responded, making Steve scoff, before turning to Nick "It was risky, yes, but I did what I had to do,"

"I believe you," Nick replied and Steve furrowed his eyebrows at him.

"What?"

"Steve, leave us please," Nick said to him "I need a word with Doctor Carter,"

Steve looked between the two of them. Peggy stood tall, poised and controlled, and Steve just shook his head before leaving the office.

"So you decided you wanted to start today, huh?" Nick asked her with a smirk.

She grinned slightly at him "Nicholas..."

"Peggy, I know you," Nick said "I know you wouldn't pull a stunt like that unless absolutely necessary," Peggy nodded "But can you try not to pull stunts like this until you've actually started your job?"

Peggy remained silent, but gave him a small smile "Now, get out of here, get some rest,"

"Yes Chief," she replied, and Nick called after her.

"Try not to cut anyone's brain open on the way out!" he heard her chuckle as she kept walking, closing his door on the way out. Nick shook his head with a grin.

This was going to be a rollercoaster. And he couldn't wait.

* * *

"Doctor Rogers," Peggy approached him as he stood at the nurse's station.

He turned to her, rolling his eyes as he looked back down at his tablet "Can I help you, Doctor Carter?"

"I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and since I'll be starting here officially on Monday," she said, joining him at the station "I'd like to start over,"

"Wouldn't that be nice," Steve looked up at her, not really having any of what she was saying "You played God today, we don't do that here, I thought you didn't either,"

"You think what I did was 'playing God'?"

Steve looked at her "There are rules in place for a reason,"

"Yes, and sometimes they have to be broken," said Peggy, and Steve's eye twitched slightly "I apologise if I stepped on your toes, but I did what I thought was necessary, maybe one day you might be able to see that,"

She started to walk off, only for Steve to call after her "Doctor Carter," he said, making her turn on her heel, not looking at her "I'll see you Monday,"

Peggy let a small smile rest on her face before she walked off. Not a great first impression, but if he was going to one of her fellow surgeons, then she was going to have to earn his respect.

Peggy blew out a breath as she left the hospital. This was either going to be a great change, or a terrible one.

* * *

"I heard we got a cowboy in the hospital," Sam smirked as he joined Steve at the nurses station "Who was she?"

"Our new Head of Neurosurgery apparently," Steve responded.

"And?"

"And what?"

"She's hot," Sam said, making Steve roll his eyes "So, who is she?"

"Peggy Carter," Steve said, closing his tablet and looking at the impressed look on Sam's face.

"That's Peggy Carter? Peggy Carter's coming here? To Shield?" Sam asked him, his eyebrows raised.

Steve sighed "Yep,"

"You don't seem too happy about that," Sam chuckled at him.

"She risked a patient's life today, probably to show off her skills," said Steve as they started walking down the corridor.

"Nah, man," Sam shook his head "I've heard a lot of things about Peggy Carter, but showboating isn't one of them,"

"Either way, she screwed up," Steve said.

"Why?"

"Because she should've done the procedure in the O.R." Steve replied "There are rules for a reason,"

"Yeah, yeah, always following the rules," Sam replied "All I'm sayin', is that if Peggy Carter did that procedure in the E.R., then chances are there were no other viable options..."

* * *

Peggy walked into her new apartment and took her shoes off. Today was a wild day and she hadn't even started yet. Steve didn't like her, which she probably should've seen coming. But, she did what she had to do, and she was okay with that. She had checked on the girl before she had left, and there seemed to be no neurological deficits which was a bonus.

She clearly made the right call, and if Steve couldn't see that, then that's on him. And who did he think he was? Questioning her ability to operate as a doctor. Even if he was super attractive, and being a surgeon he was clearly smart. But he was arrogant, and that was going to be a problem for her, for sure.

She sat own on the couch, leaning her had back as she closed her eyes, just breathing. That's when her phone rang, and she smiled softly at the caller ID before picking up.

"Hello, Angie,"

_"How did it go?"_

Peggy had to chuckle. She was always straight to the point.

"It was...eventful," she responded, and she could almost hear Angie screw her nose up in confusion.

_"Your meeting with Chief Fury was eventful? What did you do?"_

"I ended up in the O.R. and now the Chief of Trauma hates me," Peggy explained and Angie snorted in laughter.

_"He hates you? What did you do? Perform surgery right in the middle of the E.R?"_

Peggy hesitated "Well..."

_"Peggy Carter!"_

"What?" she defended "It's not like I had a choice!" she could see her shaking her head through the phone "Besides, I'm not a fan of his either,"

_"Why, what did he do?"_

"I've just dealt with people like him my whole life, I don't really want to deal with another," Peggy replied, shrugging a shoulder slighly "Anyway, how's things in New York?"

_"Ugh, I had three people vomit on me today, and then I slipped in the vomit when I saw this really cute girl, it was so embarrassing,"_

Peggy laughed into the phone.

_"Are you laughin' at me, English?"_

"I'm sorry, Darling, it's just that it's funny," Peggy responded, and she could tell Angie was rolling her eyes.

_"Yeah, yeah, alright,"_

Angie was a nurse back at Triskellion Medical in New York. They'd become very fast friends, although it took Peggy a while to actually open up to her about her life. Peggy wasn't much of a sharer. But Angie wormed her way into her heart, and is now one of her closest friends, moving away from her was hard but they'd visit each other and they had phones. It's not like they'd lose touch at all.

They spoke a while longer about their lives; Angie's New York life, and Peggy's LA one, before they finished the call and Peggy started to get hungry, she ordered Chinese food before she went to bed. She wanted to get back to the hospital to check on her patient in the morning, and she may have to deal with Steve then. So being well-rested was a must.


	2. Chapter 2

Peggy walked into Shield the next morning, wearing ripped jeans and a white t-shirt with some heeled boots. She wasn't working today, there was no need to look professional just yet. Besides, she had a gym bag in her car for later.

She by-passed the lobby and headed straight for the elevator, pressing the button as she reached it. The doors opened, making her step in to go up, but just before the doors closed, another person slid inside.

Steve Rogers.

"Doctor," he said coolly, not looking at her "I thought you didn't start 'til Monday,"

"Yes, well, I just wanted to check in on my patient," Peggy responded.

"You mean _my_ patient," Steve tried to correct her, making her roll her eyes.

"Whichever you prefer," Peggy replied, not wanting to argue with him right now "Either way, I'm still checking up on her,"

"She's sleeping," Steve said "I'd prefer it if you didn't wake her,"

"Yes, well I wasn't planning on shoving a torch in her face," Peggy shot back.

"Then what were you planning on doing?" Steve asked her, facing her finally "She's fine, I checked,"

"With all possible respect, Doctor, you didn't even have time for this girl yesterday so excuse me if I don't trust that you have her on your list of priorities," Peggy snarked, he was getting on her last nerve.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Steve asked as the elevator doors opened, and they just so happened to get out on the same floor.

"Someone who actually gives a damn what happens to my patient-oh I apologise-your patient," she responded as they walked down the corridor "Why don't you go find something else to do? Like recite the rules of procedure, considering that's the only thing you care about,"

Before Steve could respond, Peggy ducked into the girl's room, shutting the door in his face and locking it. She heard him huff through the door and stalk off, making her smirk. Something about riling him up just gave her a sense of delight. She unlocked the door again, once he was away, just in case family or nurses had to come into the room.

The girl was sleeping in her bed, just like Steve said, bandage around her head and an IV in her arm. She'd walked away with minor injuries other than the brain bleed, she was extremely lucky.

Peggy made her way over to the bed and picked up the physical chart that was on the end of the bed. She skimmed through te pages, and all the right doses seemed to have been administered, but until she spoke to the girl herself, she didn't trust it.

She took an extremely big risk yesterday, and even though Peggy would do it again in a heartbeat, that didn't mean she wasn't worried about the outcome. So she sat next to the bed, and just waited.

There was a quiet knock at the door as a woman came in wearing light blue scrubs, so she wasn't an attending yet. She was young, pretty, and looked a little nervous as she entered the room.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Oh, no, I'm fine thank you," Peggy simply said, which seemed to baffle the young girl as to what to say next "What's your name?"

"Doctor Johnson, Daisy," she said "And you are?"

"Peggy Carter," she replied, a warm smile on her face.

Daisy's eyes went wide slightly "You're-you-you're the one who-" she gestured to the girl in the bed, not knowing how to say it.

"Yes, I did,"

"Doctor Rogers isn't too happy about it," Daisy responded, taking the stethoscope from around her neck and putting the earbuds in her ears "He thinks you were showboating, gave us all a long lecture about procedures,"

Peggy couldn't help but chuckle "How many times did you fall asleep?"

"Oh no, we don't fall asleep when he does that," Daisy said, placing the metal of the stethoscope in her hands to warm it up "We take bets on how long they last,"

"And long did this one last?"

"Twelve minutes and forty two seconds," she replied with a smirk as she placed the stethoscope to the girl in the bed "I won $50,"

Peggy snorted "Someone needs to take that stick out of his arse,"

Daisy giggled softly as she listened to the girl's chest, moving it around a couple of times before wrapping the stethoscope around her neck and recording the results on the tablet in her hand.

"I personally think you're a rock star," Daisy spoke, but didn't look up at her, she just kept working on the tablet "We're lucky you were there,"

"I was just there at the right place at the right time," Peggy responded, and before Daisy could say anything else, the girl started to stir in the bed. Peggy gave her a few moments before she spoke "Good morning, Alana, how are you feeling?"

Alana grunted slightly "Sore,"

"Yes, well you took a bit of a hit in that accident," Peggy replied, leaning forward slightly before looking up at Daisy and gesturing to the flashlight in her pocket. Which she handed over quickly "I just want to check your eyesight to make sure everything's okay, alright?"

Alana nodded and Peggy stood up above her, shining the flashlight in her eyes, one at a time "Can you follow the light for me?"

She did so, and once Peggy was satisfied, she turned off the light, handing it back to Daisy "Okay, now I need you touch my finger," she said, and Peggy held out one finger.

They spent the next five minutes doing small exercises to ease Peggy's mind, really. Alana was doing fine, but Peggy was taking extra precautions, just to be safe.

Once they were done, Peggy excused herself and Daisy so they could talk outside.

"Does she have any family?" Peggy asked her.

"Her parents are coming in from Michigan, they should be here by the afternoon," Daisy responded, making Peggy nod "Poor thing, she's at college, no one's come to see her yet except for you,"

"Yes, well, I'll stay until her parents arrive," said Peggy "I should be the one to tell them what happened, if I happen to not be here, would you mind paging me when they do get here?"

"Of course, yeah," Daisy nodded.

"I heard there was a cowboy around here,"

Peggy smirked at the voice that came from behind her and turned around to the woman it belonged to.

"Melinda May, as I live and breathe," Peggy said, embracing the woman as she approached. Daisy looked strangely between the two of them. She'd never seen May hug anyone before, it was freaking her out to be quite honest.

"You really pulled a number on Rogers," Melinda smirked "He keeps walking around, preaching 'procedure' to anyone who'll listen,"

"Ah, yes, I've been informed," Peggy said, giving Daisy a small smirk.

"I also hear you'll be stickin' around for a while," May added.

"As of Monday, yes," Peggy replied, a small smile on her face.

"So you're the cowboy that's got Steve all riled up," another voice chimed in, making all three turn to the red-head joining them "I must say, you're not what I expected,"

"Why do people keep calling me that?" Peggy asked in slight exasperation.

"Do you prefer 'Sailor' instead?" the woman winked.

"Natasha Romanoff, meet Peggy Carter," May introduced.

"Most people call me Nat, but you can call me anything you want," she was still wearing the smirk on her face, and Peggy couldn't help but grin back. She was going to be fun, Peggy could tell.

"What's your specialty?" Peggy asked, a slight grin still on her face.

"Cardio, just like this one," Natasha gestured to Melinda standing next to her "I hear you're taking over Neuro, congrats,"

"Thank you," Peggy replied.

"How about some tea?" Melinda asked "You can tell me about why you're running from New York,"

"I am not-" Peggy cut herself off as Melinda was already halfway down the hall, leaving Daisy and Nat behind.

Daisy looked over at Nat, who had her head cocked as she scoped out the neurosurgeon's ass, making her snort slightly when she said "I like her,"

"Yeah, I bet you do," Daisy replied with a grin.

Natasha just winked at her and walked off, making the younger doctor shake her head.

* * *

"So, how's things?" Peggy asked as they grabbed a tea from the coffee cart out the front of the hospital. They barista has started stocking up on tea after Melinda had asked once and he'd said no. After that he always had some for her, which was lucky for Peggy.

"Good," Melinda simply replied, that was how it usually was "You?"

"Yes, I'm fine as well," Peggy replied.

"And that boy, Fred?" asked Melinda, and couldn't help the bitterness in her voice. It was no surprise Melinda didn't like Fred, no one did really, not even Peggy to be honest.

"Gone,"

"Good,"

Peggy rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face, that was to be expected "He's a douche," May said.

"He wasn't that bad," Peggy defended.

Now it was May's turn to roll her eyes "Yes, he was that bad, he tried to stop you from being a surgeon, what kind of person does that?"

"He just wanted more time with me,"

"With you or his ideal version of you?" Melinda asked, making Peggy pause "Anyone who doesn't support your dreams or your decisions doesn't deserve you in the first place, especially you, you're too good for assholes like that,"

"Well, you have a point," Peggy said and Melinda gave her a smirk. Of course she has a point, she always had a point "What about this Coulson character? Have you told him how you feel yet?"

"Excuse me?" May asked, almost choking in her tea "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please, every conversation we have you manage to bring him up, I'm looking forward to meeting him," Peggy smirked into her tea.

"Coulson's my friend," May defended, her voice calm.

"You're forgetting that I know you, Melinda," Peggy responded "So the only one you're fooling here, is yourself,"

Melinda stayed silent, just shaking her head. The more she argued, the worse it was going to be.

"So that's the Daisy you talk about," Peggy changed the subject, and Melinda nodded slowly.

"It is,"

"She's lovely, I like her," Peggy added.

"So do I," Melinda responded.

"Does she know that?" asked Peggy, her had tilting to the side as she spoke.

"She's not mine," May shrugged slightly "She's independent and strong and smart, and she's going to make an incredible surgeon one day, she doesn't need me to interfere,"

"There's a difference between interfering and being there for her," Peggy said "My guess is she already looks up to you as a mentor, it couldn't hurt tell her she's succeeding every now and again,"

May stayed silent for a moment, taking it all in. They've known each other for a long time, and she knows Peggy doesn't give out wisdom on a whim. When she does, it's usually worth listening to.

"Yeah, maybe,"

* * *

"I met your Sailor today," Nat smirked as she joined Steve on his walk through the corridor of the hospital floor "I like her,"

"Well that makes one of us," Steve responded, not looking up from his tablet.

"She's hot, like the kind of hot that is actually gorgeous, and clearly very smart, and that accent..." Natasha groaned as she threw her head back "I was _this_ close to pulling her into an on-call room myself,"

"She likes to live life on the edge, she probably would've gone for it," Steve responded.

"You are so bent out of shape over her, I've never seen you like this, it's amusing," Natasha grinned at him.

Steve rolled his eyes "Of course it is, everything is to you,"

"How about you untwist your panties, and get on with your life," Natasha quipped "Just a suggestion," she said before quickly disappearing down another hallway.

Steve rolled his eyes again and huffed. She already had Nat on her side, and he was getting worked up over this. Who did she think she was? Coming into his E.R. and performing an unethical surgery on his patient. Nat was right, he had to let it go.

But this woman just got under his skin, and he had no idea why.

* * *

Daisy had paged her when Alana's parents arrived, and so she had made her way to the room as quickly as possible.

"Mr and Mrs Wittaker, I'm Doctor Carter," she started as she and Daisy stepped into the room. Both parents made her way over to her and Peggy shook their hands "I was the one who operated on your daughter,"

"What happened? Do you know how she got here?" Mr Wittaker asked.

"It's my understanding that someone ran a red light and hit your daughter's car," she started "She received only minor injuries to her ankle and her shoulder, however there was some bleeding in her brain,"

"What-wh-what does that mean?" Mrs Wittaker asked her, panic in her voice.

"It means I had to ope up her skull to relieve the pressure," Peggy explained softly, and Mrs Wittaker let out a strangled cry for her daughter "She'll need some rest, and she'll need to come back in for a check up, but from my assessment, Alana will be just fine,"

"Thank you," Mr Wittaker said, hugging his wife closer "Thank you so much,"

"It was my pleasure," Peggy responded before taking a card out of her back pocket "She'll need to stay another night, just for observation, and I'll have Doctor Johnson here go over her care-plan for when you leave, but if you need anything..." she passed over the card "Don't hesitate to call,"

Mr Wittaker thanked her again as he took the card and turned their attention back t their daughter as Peggy and Daisy slipped out.

"You want me to go over post-op instructions?" Daisy asked, making Peggy nod.

"Yes, I would prefer someone who knows the patient's case," she replied "Now if anything goes wrong, anything at all, you page whoever is here but page me too,"

"Yes, Ma'am," Daisy nodded "Doctor Barton will be here tonight, he's a neuro attending,"

Peggy nodded "That's good," she said "Check her every hour for update, there's not a huge window to fix any errors I may have made,"

"You think you made an error?" Daisy asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"No, I don't," Peggy replied "However, neurosurgery is unpredictable, especially post-up, so every hour you check up on her," Daisy nodded, but hesitated "What is it?" Peggy asked.

Daisy lowered her voice as she spoke "You didn't tell them the whole story,"

Peggy glanced at the parents doting over their daughter in the bed before guiding Daisy away from the door and towards the nurses station "Telling those parents what happened in the emergency room was not going to make it any easier for them," she explained "They found out that their daughter was in a horrid car accident, and her brain had to be cut open, wherever I did that, would not help them,"

Daisy nodded, but still not quite sure "Listen, Daisy, you'll make a great surgeon one day, and you'll learn what things to say and not to say, it'll come with practice, so take this on board,"

Daisy nodded again, this time trusting Peggy in what she said - or didn't say.

"Now, page me if anything happens," Peggy said as she took a step back from the girl to walk away "I need to punch something,"

* * *

Peggy pummelled the punching bag, she'd been there an hour now. She had to be careful of how she punched though, a wrong one and it could end her surgical career. But nothing melted her stress away like throwing her fists into something.

Sweat dripped down her face like her own personal rain cloud was hanging over her head, her muscles getting sore as she kept punching, and her loose tank top was sticking to her stomach.

"I thought I might find you here,"

She looked up, seeing a smirking face at her "Anthony," she smiled.

"Dad always said you liked to hit things, especially him," he smirked, coming over to kiss her on the cheek as she unwrapped her hands.

"That was only twice, and he knows what he did," she defended, a grin settling on her face "What brings you by?"

"Heard you were back in town," he said, sitting on the bench next to her bag, his back against the wall as she threw her her drink bottle "Thought I'd come say hello before you don't have time for me anymore,"

"Anthony, I'll always have time for you," Peggy responded, giving him a look that told him he never should have thought otherwise "Besides, I'll see you around the hospital,"

"Yeah, I know," Tony replied "I guess I just miss hanging out, just us,"

Peggy swiped up her gym towel and sat down next to him, patting his leg "Me too, but I'll be sticking around for a while so we'll have time,"

"Good," he said, nudging his shoulder into hers "So what happened to dear old Freddie-boy?"

Peggy rolled her eyes, taking a drink of water before saying "I realised I shouldn't have to give up any of myself in order to make someone else happy,"

"Good, that guy was a jackass," Tony replied "Just make sure the next guy doesn't expect the same thing,"

"There's not going to be a 'next guy',"

Tony raised an eyebrow at her a small grin on his face "Next girl?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Anthony," Peggy chuckled at him "I just mean, right now I need to focus on my work, get settled here, any sort of relationship is out of the question for the time being,"

Tony rolled his eyes "You're no fun at all,"

Peggy smiled at him "You may be my godson, but you're a pain in my arse,"

"And you wouldn't have me any other way," Tony grinned at him before slapping his knee "So, drink?"

"I shouldn't,"

"Come on, Peg!" Tony whined like a child "I haven't seen you in so long,"

Peggy bit back her smile as she shook her head "Fine, one drink, but I'm technically on-call,"

"Perfect!" Tony jumped up, grabbing her bag to carry for her and started out of the gym, making her roll her eyes amusingly and follow him out.

* * *

Peggy woke up the next morning, her head pounding. She rolled over in bed, and she could taste the tequila in her mouth, making her wince. She tried to sit up, her head protesting very loudly. She was going to kill Tony.

She layed back down, admitting sitting up was not the best idea. She reached over to her bedside table, checking her phone, no missed pages or calls. She sighed a breath of relief, that meant Alana was fine, Daisy would have paged her otherwise.

She thought back to last night, big chunks of it missing, and remembered she definitely had more than one drink that night. In fact there were many drinks, plus the multiple shots Tony had managed to talk her into doing. She was going to kill that boy, for sure.

Her phone rang, making her jump and wince in pain at the same time. She really had to start putting her phone on silent. She answered it with a grunt, not looking at the caller I.D. and automatically heard a familiar laugh.

"Shut up, Angie,"

_"I'm sorry, English, but I had to check on you,"_

"Ugh, why are you talking so loud?" Peggy asked, her eyes squeezed shut "And why did you need to check on me?"

_"Oh you don't remember?"_

Angie started laughing again, and Peggy's eyes flew open in panic "Remember what?"

_"Oh honey, you should really check your messages, you sent me multiple photos that I was definitely jealous of,"_

Peggy closed her eyes. Uh oh. She put Angie on loudspeaker and opened up the messages she sent her Angie, her jaw dropping.

_"You're lookin' at 'em, aren't ya?"_

"Yes," Peggy responded, looking through the very sexually posed photos of her and another woman.

In one, Peggy was biting the woman's ear. Another, they were dancing very closely. And the other, they were just straight up making out. There were more photos, pretty much the same as the other, just in different positions.

_"So I take it you had fun, hey English?"_

She could hear Angie laughing and she fell back down onto her pillows "You're the worst,"

_"You love me,"_

Peggy grunted in acknowledgement "I blame Anthony for this,"

_"I'm sure you do, just leave his pretty face untouched for me, would ya?"_

"Ugh, don't talk about my godson that way, it's weird," Peggy groaned "Besides, I'd punch his father, not him,"

_"Yeah, yeah, I know, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon, love ya,"_

"Love you too,"

And with that, they hung up.

Peggy looked through the photos again, groaning to herself. She really needed to get a hold of herself when she was drunk. This wasn't the first time she'd sent Angie photos of her getting a little loose. Her name was Dottie, she remembers that. She had dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes that would pierce your soul. She was very forward, and in those moments, Peggy was definitely not against it.

Sure the other woman was gorgeous, but she hated making a fool of herself; and she just knew, Tony would never let her forget it either.

* * *

As soon as Peggy walked through the doors on Shield Memorial on Monday, a cup of tea was shoved under her nose. She looked up to the face belonging to the person giving it to her, and saw Tony's sheepishly guilty face looking at her. He was already wearing his scrubs and coat, his red stethoscope hanging around his neck.

"Good Morning, Peg,"

"One drink," Peggy said as she took the tea and began walking towards the elevator "I said one drink,"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but you had a good time," Tony tried to salvage, making Peggy roll her eyes as she stepped into the elevator, not noticing a certain blue eyed, blonde haired man in the back corner "I mean, you had a really good time,"

"Anthony," she warned.

Tony grinned "You were getting down and dirty!" he whispered loudly, so he wasn't really whispering at all "And you lasted longer than I thought you would, I forgot how much liquor you can hold,"

"One drink!"

"Okay, I get it, you're mad," Tony said "But I haven't seen you in so long and I don't know how long it will be until we get another chance to do this,"

Peggy sighed, looking at him "Anthony, I will be here whenever you need, you know this,"

"Yeah, I know," Tony replied, looking down at the floor "I just miss you sometimes, that's all,"

"Well, now you get to see me everyday," Peggy responded, making him grin back at her as he looked up from the floor.

The elevator opened and Tony was still grinning, and right before he stepped off, he bent down to kiss her cheek "Enjoy the tea," he said as he rushed down the hall, right before the elevator closed.

"Good night?"

Peggy nearly jumped as she heard the voice from behind her. Nearly. There were other people in the elevator, but she didn't notice him in the corner.

"Doctor Rogers," she responded, ignoring his question.

"History with Stark?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Peggy responded "I've known him for years,"

"Sounds like you've got some friends here," Steve responded, his hands clutching behind his back.

"Your point being?" Peggy asked him, not losing her composure, as frustrated as she was.

"No point, just trying to make conversation," Steve shrugged.

"Oh, so you've stopped pouting have you?" Peggy responded, rolling her eyes.

"Look, I'm trying to start over here," Steve said, stepping up to stand next to her.

Peggy hummed "Yes, well so did I, but you didn't seem too interested, and right now, neither am I," she replied, just as the elevator doors opened "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

And with that, she stepped off the elevator, leaving him in her wake not really knowing what to say or think really.

* * *

"Hey Sailor," Nat smirked at her as she joined her at the nurses station "Official first day, anything exciting?"

"Natasha," Peggy greeted with a smile "Nothing that gets the adrenaline pumping, unfortunately, mainly aneurysm clips,"

"Well I hope you're ready for your adrenaline to pump because I have a brain teaser for you," Nat responded, handing over the tablet in her hand "I have a fifteen year old boy with heart failure, he's on the top of the transplant list, but we found something when we were doing an MRI after he fell down yesterday,"

Peggy looked at the scan in front of her "Wow," she breathed "A butterfly tumour,"

"Yeah," Nat nodded "Poor kid is so close to getting a new heart, but UNOS won't give it to him if this is inside his brain,"

"It's ginormous," Peggy said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"You think you can do it?" Nat asked her.

Peggy looked over the scan again "Give me two hours,"

"You got it," Nat nodded "Page if you need anything,"

"Thanks," Peggy replied as Nat walked away, studying the scan. Looking up at the resident on her service, she called him over "Doctor Fitz, could you possibly bring these up on a larger screen for me?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Fitz fumbled as he grabbed the tablet and took it inside a room nearby. Peggy bit back a smile. He was a sweet kid, and brilliant, he was the youngest in his class, but he was nervous all the time. She'd have to work with him on that.

Peggy spent the next two hours, like she said, looking at the scans, going through any and every possibility to get the enormous butterfly tumour out of a fifteen year old's head.

She was stressing herself out, tempted to send Fitz out of the room so she could think, but knew he needed to learn. So he sat on the couch against the wall, not saying anything.

"You got some good news for me?" Natasha asked as she walked in.

Peggy sighed "There are seven possible ways of getting that brain tumour out of this boy's brain, however, the shape of the tumour and it's size, they all end up either paralysing him or turning him into a turnip,"

Natasha blew out a breath, sitting down in the chair "Dammit," she muttered "I really thought we could've saved this kid if we worked together,"

"Yeah..." Peggy paused, her eyebrows furrowing before spinning back to the scans, scenarios flying through her head a warp speed.

"What is it?"

She didn't say anything for a while, just looked between the scans, using her fingers to talk with herself before she stopped and turned around with a smile.

"I think I've got it,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Tony is a little bit younger than Peggy in this one, I feel like Howard would've known Peggy when she was super young so they became close friends. idk I didn't really think it through, I got excited. Just use your imagination I guess.


	3. Chapter 3

Peggy stood in front of the group of surgical residents and attendings. All wanted to hear the grand plan to get a huge butterfly tumour out of a teenage boy's brain. She stood with a model brain at the front of the class, trying to explain the method, or multiple methods, in how to make the surgery a successful one.

"Any of those methods would kill the patient, or turn him into a vegetable at least," Steve spoke up and Peggy calmly spoke back.

"You're quite right, Doctor Rogers, but I'm not using just one of these methods," said Peggy as she changed the slide on the screen "I'm using all of them," There were murmurs and mumbling throughout the room as she continued to speak "Using a minute parts of each method allows me to dissect a small part of the tumour, piece-by-piece, until I can get the tumour as a whole,"

"That's risky," Bucky called out "You sure you can pull it off?"

"Not at all," Peggy responded, and the room was silent "Truth be told, this boy could very well die on the table," she continued to speak to the silence "However, if we don't get this tumour out, he's going to die anyway, and I'm willing to gamble that this boy would rather we do everything in our power to make sure he lives his best life,"

Everyone was still silent, trying to take in what she was implying. It was risky, and Peggy knew that, she knew that she could kill this boy, but she had to try. She owed it to the boy, if she had a chance to fix him, she would.

"This is going to be a long surgery, which means I'm going to need residents," Peggy said "None of you will be in the OR for more than 12 hours at a time," the students groaned and Peggy clasped her hands together, waiting for them to stop "No more than 12 hours, and if I catch any of you trying to sneak in more OR time in any shape or form, you'll be on scut for a month,"

"Shouldn't it be a good thing we want more hours in the O.R?" a young resident asked her.

"Yes, that you're eager to learn and advance your surgical career, absolutely," Peggy said "But I will not have inexperienced surgeons operate on a boy when they are sleep deprived and dehydrated, so when I say no more than 12 hours, I mean no more than 12 hours,"

"She's right," Steve spoke up, his arms crossed over his chest as everyone turned to look at him "None of you are ready for it yet, and this surgery is too risky for there to be any mistakes,"

"I'll be choosing residents by the end of the day, until then I want to see your skills in action," Peggy said as she pulled a twenty dollar note out of her scrubs and moving over to a table with a surgical microscope. She placed the note on the table, then covered it with a paper cup that had a hole in the bottom. She pulled a pen out of her lab coat "Whoever can manage to get this pen on the tip of Mr Jackson's nose, may assist me in the operating theatre,"

All the residents ears pricked up, paying attention as Peggy demonstrated with ease, looking through the microscope as she guided the pen through the hole to make a perfect dot on the nose of the bill.

"Easy as pie," Ward smirked and Peggy looked straight at him, a look of amusement on her face.

"Alright, Doctor Ward," she took a step back, holding the pen out "Time to put that ego to use,"

Ward swaggered forward, the smirk still on his face. Everyone rolled their eyes, classic Grant Ward. Peggy looked throughout the room, looking at everyone's faces. They clearly weren't a fan of his. She caught Daisy's eye, who only rolled her eyes as she shook her head.

"Let me show you losers how it's done," Ward said as he stepped up, grabbing the pen from Peggy and standing in front of the microscope.

Everyone sat forward in their seats, paying close attention to him, wondering if he could do it or not. He looked through the microscope, positioning the pen above the cup. Peggy eyed his hand, her eyes narrowing as he started to lower the pen.

He dropped his hand, lowering the pen into the hole. Only he didn't get in through the cup, he hit the side. There was a good few moments where no one moved or spoke. But that all ended when Daisy straight up laughed, and that when everyone else lost it. Heckling and laughing.

Peggy took pity on him as he just stood there "Okay, that's enough,"

That's when he moved. He stepped back and swiped at the cup, swiping it off the table and onto the floor "This is bullshit! You set me up to fail!" he yelled, turning to her.

She just stood there, her hands clasped in front of her and eye eyes narrowing at him "Doctor Ward, I said that's enough," she said sternly "Either sit down and be quiet, or leave,"

Ward's nostrils flared before he stormed past her and out the door.

Peggy turned back to the class "Take Doctor Ward's example," she started "I don't care who you are, I don't care how good of a doctor you may think you are, I do not tolerate such behaviour. If I catch any of you acting in such a way, you will be off my service permanently. Am I clear?"

The whole room sat up straight as she spoke, nodding to her in agreement. Peggy had seen all of it. She'd seen many people like Grant Ward, and she has never tolerated their childish behaviour. She never will either.

"So, who's next?"

* * *

Steve watched as Peggy congratulated one of the residents on joining her in the O.R. Antoine 'Trip' Triplett. One of the most talented residents he'd ever had the pleasure of working with. He worked well under pressure, Steve was hoping to snatch him for Trauma. The other one she'd picked was Jemma Simmons. She as the youngest in her class, along with Fitz. Extremely talented, brilliant, steady hands.

He watched as she smiled at the young doctors, she really was beautiful, even if she was reckless at times. She was extremely smart, and if her papers and previous surgeries had told him anything, he would go as far to say she may be a genius. He knew that she was impressive, if not intimidating, but something about her got under his skin.

She pushed his buttons, agitated him. He tried to start over, and she refused. Yeah sure, she tried first and he brushed her off, but he was angry. All he was trying to do was make small-talk with her, and she old him to get lost. There was no way in hell that he would admit that stung a little.

"Close your mouth," Bucky smirked at him as he walked past, slapping him on the shoulder.

Steve shifted in his spot. He was staring, and he'd just been caught. By Bucky. Great.

Peggy came towards him, her face neutral "Doctor Rogers,"

"Doctor Carter," Steve sad politely, bowing a little as he did so "That's a unique surgery you've come up with,"

"You don't approve?" she asked, her face still neutral.

"I never said that," he replied, shaking his head slightly "It's tricky, I'm a little apprehensive, but like you said; if you don't operate, he dies anyway,"

"In other words, it doesn't matter if I kill him, he's going to die anyway?" Peggy's eyebrows furrowed.

Oh shit.

"No, no, no, no, that-no, I didn't-"

He was cut off by Peggy laughing "Don't worry Doctor, I'm just pulling your leg,"

Steve blew out a breath as she continued to laugh, rubbing the back of his neck slightly at his embarrassment "You had me,"

"You'll get used to it," Peggy gave him a small grin as she started to walk out of the training lab, Steve walking alongside her "So, in all honestly, give me your criticism,"

"I'm sorry?" Steve was caught off guard for a moment.

"Well, if you see a flaw in my plan, I would prefer you tell me so I don't kill this young man," Peggy responded "Those who work solely with their ego, never achieve greatness, nor do you want them operating on you,"

Steve nodded as he spoke "That is true," he said "But no, I didn't see anything wrong with your plan, if everything goes the way you want it to, then you'll have a tumour-free kid by the end of the week,"

"I appreciate that," Peggy responded, giving him a small smile "Listen, Doctor Rogers, I was hoping maybe we could start over, I believe we may have butted heads early on,"

Steve let out a small breath "Yeah, I'd like that," he responded "Call me Steve,"

"Peggy," she responded "I have to prep for surgery but I'll see you around, Steve,"

"Yeah, of course, see you," he responded. And with that, she walked away.

So he watched her walk away. Damn. Now he likes her.

* * *

"Doctor Wilson," Peggy walked up to Sam as he and Tony stood at the nurses station of the neurosurgery wing "I don't believe we've had the pleasure,"

Sam smiled as he turned to her, sticking out his hand "Ma'am, it's an honour,"

"As it is mine," Peggy responded, a smile of her own on her face "I read your thesis on Post-Operative Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, I was rather impressed,"

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Sam responded, bouncing on his feet a little in excitement "I've read all your publications, I especially liked the one-"

"I'm sorry," Tony stopped him, holding his hand out slightly "I just threw up in my mouth,"

Sam rolled his eyes as Peggy shook her head at him "Anthony, honestly,"

"What? You two would stand here talking to each other all day if I let you," he responded "I just saved you both from an unproductive day,"

"Well, what would I do without you?" Peggy responded sarcastically, her eyes rolling slightly as she turned back to Sam "I was wondering if you'd join me in the O.R. tomorrow?"

Sam looked surprised and Tony's jaw dropped "What about me?" he complained.

Peggy turned to him "You're a plastic surgeon, not a neurosurgeon,"

"That just means I've got delicate hands,"

Peggy ignored him as she spoke to Sam "What do you say?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he responded, nodding firmly.

"Excellent, I shall see you tomorrow," Peggy smiled before turning to Tony "Oh, stop pouting Anthony, go give someone a new nose," she said as she started to walk off.

"Hey!" he called after her in offence "I do ass-lifts too!"

* * *

"Hello Liam, how are you feeling this morning?" Peggy smiled as she walked into the boy's room the next morning, Sam and Trip trailing behind her, Nat and Jemma not too far behind.

The boy smiled nervously "Ready to puke my guts up, to be honest,"

Peggy chuckled as his mother scolded him "That's a start," Peggy said.

"Do you think you can get the tumour out?" Liam's mother asked her, holding her son's hand in comfort. More for herself than anything.

Peggy took a small breath before answering "I do," she said before looking down at Liam "But it is extremely risky, I'm going to do everything I can to get it out but as soon as I see anything that will harm you in any way, I'm out of there,"

"No," Liam shook his head "I want it out,"

"Liam..." his mother said.

"No, mom!" he cried before turning back to Peggy "Doctor Carter, if you don't get the tumour out today, what does that mean for me?"

Peggy hesitated as she looked between the two "It means you'll most likely receive chemotherapy, multiple rounds of radiation, and we would keep cutting out the tumour as it continued to grow back,"

Liam looked up at his mother "Mom...I've spent my entire childhood in a hospital, I don't want to spend the rest of my life here too," he said, before turning back to Peggy "Get it out, all of it,"

Peggy looked up at Liam's mother "Mrs Michaels, would you mind if I had a chat with Liam?"

Mrs Michaels seemed to hesitate for a moment, but nodded as she bent down to kiss her son's head "I'll be right outside,"

As she walked out, Peggy gestured for the other three doctors in the room to leave as well, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

"Doctor Carter, I don't care what you have to do...just get it out," Liam said, almost pleading with her.

"Liam, I want you to listen to me," said Peggy, sitting down on the edge of his bed "I know you want this tumour out, so do I," she started "But if anything goes wrong in there, we're not talking more surgery and radiation, we're not even talking about death here," she said, making sure he knew the consequences "We're talking about you losing every function in your body, including your ability to eat, talk, move...we're talking about brain death,"

"I don't care," Liam said "I would rather you try everything you could to keep me alive the way I want to live, than live a miserable life in this shithole...no offence,"

"None taken," Peggy said quietly and took a moment as she looked at him. He was right. Living your life in a hospital was no way to live at all "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

Liam nodded firmly "I just want to live a normal life,"

"Then I will do my best to give it to you," Peggy responded, giving him a small smile.

Liam nodded back at her "Thank you, Doctor Carter,"

"You're putting your life in my hands," Peggy said as she stood up from the bed "Call me Peggy,"

Liam smiled at her and nodded, right before his smile faded "My mom..."

"You're my patient," Peggy said "I'll talk to your mother, and I'll do everything to put her mind at ease, I'll prepare her the best I can, but I'm here for whatever you need," she explained "So if you want me to take the whole thing out and damn the consequences then that's what I'll do,"

Liam nodded "Thanks Peggy,"

Peggy patted his hand "I'll send her in, and if you want to tell her about our conversation then go ahead, just know that it won't help to make her worry even more,"

"Okay," he said, blowing out a breath "You think you can do it?"

"I do," Peggy nodded back at him "But I won't lie and say that I'm not nervous too,"

Liam smiled slightly at her, and she started to walk out, opening the door and sending Mrs Michaels back in to the room. She joined the other doctors by the nurses station "What was that about?"

"Just making sure we're clear on what the goal is today," Peggy responded before turning to Jemma, Sam and Trip "Surgery is in four hours, if you need a nap, take one, if you need something to eat, do it, keep hydrated, I will not have any of you cramping out in the O.R, got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," they all replied in unison.

"Okay," Peggy nodded "See you in the O.R."

With that, Peggy walked off, Nat joining her at her side "You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be,"

* * *

Steve watched from the gallery, along with everyone else who was interested in the surgery. That included nearly all the surgical staff. Peggy wouldn't allow anyone observing in the O.R. Not with something as delicate as this. He could hear the interns and residents talking, even some attending were in on the gossip.

"I heard she performed a craniotomy on a plane with nothing but a needle and a syringe,"

"One time, she operated on a guy with a bomb strapped to his chest,"

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Apparently, when she was in the army, she operated on a man's brain with a machine gun pointed at her head,"

Steve sat up right in his chair, his ears pricked. He'd never heard that she was in the army. She'd never written anything on it.

 _"Doctor Rogers,"_ he sat up further, looking down at the English voice that called to him from the O.R. _"Would you mind terribly to turn that intercom off, please?"_

"Of course," he said back, reaching up behind him and turning off the intercom. He looked around at the people in the room, everyone looking ashamed and embarrassed "If you gossips don't mind, we can all learn something here, pay attention,"

They all turned to the front, sitting up straight and paying attention, sharing glances with each other like kids in the principal's office. Steve tuned back to the O.R, watching every move she made, and realised she never looked up when she spoke to him.

She was focused, driven, and determined to get this tumour out of the boy. He had seen the way she worked in the O.R. the first time they went in together last week, but he never actually saw how she operated.

She was smooth, her movement flawless, almost like a choreographed dance. It was almost mesmerising to watch. He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together as he watched on.

He was there for a couple more hours, just watching, when all of a sudden, the heart rate monitor started to lose its mind, beeping loudly as Peggy tried to salvage whatever mistake was made. Sam raising his voice as he spoke over the monitor, Peggy yelling back to him without actually moving or looking at him.

"We have to close up!"

_"Not yet!"_

_"Doctor Carter, he's going to lose motor function!"_

_"Doctor Wilson, if you want to leave, then leave!"_

_"You're going to kill him!"_

She didn't respond. She just kept going. Steve stood up, moving towards the glass, getting a closer look, his eyebrows furrowing. Everyone was on the edge of their seats.

Sam kept trying to get her to stop, but she didn't move.

_"We need to get out now!"_

_"Just a minute!"_

Sam looked up at Steve, who went to walk to the intercom, only to be blocked by Fury "Give her a minute,"

"You're just going to stand by and let her do this?" Steve asked him.

"I trust her judgement," was all Fury said, and Steve shook his head, pushing past him to run down to the O.R. as fast as he could. This was twice in a span of a week that she was risky with a patient's life.

_Legend, my ass._

Steve ran down the stairs, racing through the corridors of the hospital, finally reaching the O.R. as he grabbed a face mask, holding it over his nose and mouth.

He walked in, only for the machines to have stopped beeping and all surgeons standing calmly around the patient. He frowned "Doctor Carter?" he asked, glancing at Sam, who shook his head slightly. Obviously, he was not impressed.

She didn't look up at him, but spoke to him anyway "Doctor Rogers, what can I do for you?"

He hesitated, she had everything under control now, he wasn't sure what to do "Uh, is everything okay in here?"

"Everything's fine, thank you, but if you'd like to take over from Doctor Triplett so he can take a bathroom, that would be much appreciated," she responded, looking at the resident next to him.

"What? No I'm fine, I don't need to-"

"You've been clenching and unclenching the last twenty minutes," she said "Ten minutes including scrub-time, Doctor, and you're right back in here," she gave him a look, and even with a mask over her face, she was too intimidating for him to argue.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, stepping back from the table and making his way out of the O.R.

"I'll go scrub," Steve said, and hesitated slightly before stepping out to go scrub-in. It took him four minutes and thirty six seconds. He knew it was that exactly because every time he would sing Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World' twice through. As he stepped back into the O.R. the nurse gloved and gowned him, before he stepped up to the table.

"Welcome," Peggy said, looking through her microscope. Steve and Sam shared a look over the patient, having a silent conversation "If you've got something to say, Doctors, go right ahead,"

Steve hesitated, but spoke anyway "That was a reckless move you pulled,"

"I had it under control," Peggy responded, still not looking at either of them "Besides, we always knew this surgery was going to be risky,"

"Only if you go too far," Sam spoke up "You could've stopped, and now we don't know what kind of damage we're dealing with,"

"If you don't want to stay, Doctor Wilson, the door's to your left there," was all she said.

The two men shared a look, as Jemma stayed quiet next to them, not daring to make a sound "Doctor Simmons, do you feel I was reckless?" Peggy asked her, looking at her as she spoke this time.

"Who-me-uh-" Jemma stuttered nervously, blinking rapidly under the eye of Peggy.

"It's okay, be honest,"

"I, uh..." Jemma swallowed before answering "I believe that it may have been safer to close,"

Peggy smiled under her mask and returned her gaze through the glass of the microscope "Yes, that seems to be the general consensus of the room," she said "I respect you speaking your mind, Doctor, it takes courage to disagree with a superior,"

"So why didn't you stop?" Steve asked her "Surely you would've known that he may have mental deficits now,"

"And surely you know that between the two of us, I'm the neurosurgeon here," she replied, looking at him for a moment longer before looking back through the microscope. Steve was taken aback, she didn't seem like the type to pull rank or shut someone down "Suction,"

"Is that what they teach you in the army?" Steve asked, not looking at her as he suctioned.

Peggy paused, not looking through the microscope, but not looking at him either. She took a moment, before looking back down at the patient "I think that's enough talk,"

Steve looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. He looked over at Sam, who just shrugged slightly. That was odd. She completely shut down. It's not like he'd never met an army surgeon before, he was one himself, but he'd never seen anyone shut down the way she did.

* * *

After the surgery which included the first five methods to extract the tumour, the final stage was to place radiation balls in Liam's brain, around the tumour to stop it from growing. The problem was that the balls were like miniature ball bearings, and because they were radioactive, everyone had to be in protective clothing. This included massive padded and lined gloves.

So she had to use a clamp, which was going to be difficult. She stood in front of Liam's brain open on the table, looking at the hole she had to place the balls around.

She kicked Trip and Jemma out, along with the nurses, leaving just Sam and herself to place them "Ready?" she asked him.

"Let's do it," he responded, passing her the clamp whilst holding the tray off metal balls in his hands, ready for her to grab.

She tried picking one up with the clamp, only for it to slip back into the tray. She cursed under her breath as she tried again. Once again, it slipped.

Sam looked at her, wondering what she was going to do. She looked up at him "Doctor Wilson, we have to do this fast,"

"Why?" his eyebrows furrowed, and he could almost see her grin under her mask.

"Because, the only way to do this..." she said, and took her gloves off "Is to face the music,"

"What the fuck are you doing?" Sam cried at her, not knowing what to do.

Peggy quickly grabbed a ball with her latex gloved hand, turning to the brain in front of her and placing it with her fingers "Like I said, fast,"

"You're exposed to the radiation!"

Peggy didn't respond, she just kept grabbing and placing the balls into the tissue, and repeating, ignoring Sam's protests.

_"Doctor Carter, put the glove back on right now!"_

"I'm sorry Nicholas, I can't hear you over the radiation!" she called back, and continued placing the ball bearings.

Three minutes later, she had finished placing all the ball bearings "Alright Doctor Wilson, let's get out of here,"

The two of them ran out of the sealed O.R. as fast as they could. As soon as Peggy hit the scrub-room, a wave of nausea flowed through her body. She ripped her radiation suit off, piling it at her feet right before she threw up in the trough.

Sam didn't say anything, he just slowly got out of his suit, throwing it in the quarantine bin provided for them. He bent down and tapped her ankles lightly to get her to step out of the suit, and he threw it in with his.

Peggy held her head underneath the trough tap, taking a mouthful of water and swigging it before spitting it out. She turned around, leaning back on the trough with her head bowed slightly.

"That was stupid," Sam said simply, although there was no judgement in his voice. That surprised her, he'd been very critical of her all day.

Peggy looked up at him a gave him a small grin "It got the job done, didn't it?"

"Mhm," was all he responded with and Fury came in.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" he yelled at her. Peggy didn't respond as he kept going "That was the most idiotic, irresponsible thing I have ever witnessed in my entire life!" Peggy raised an eyebrow at him "Okay maybe not the most idiotic, irresponsible thing but pretty damn close!" he sighed as he shook his head, moving to lean next to on the trough "You're a damn fool, you know that?"

"Yes, I'm aware," Peggy responded before turning to Sam as he finished scrubbing and started drying his hands "You did good work today, go get some rest,"

Sam nodded "Thank you, Ma'am," he said before leaving the two of them in the scrub room.

As soon she left, Peggy quickly spun back around and threw up in the trough again. Fury stepped away slightly, giving her some space "Radiation got you good, huh?"

Peggy rinsed her mouth out again before bowing her head as she leaned over the trough "It's not the radiation..." she finally looked at him as his eyebrows furrowed, tears in her eyes.

"I think I may have turned young Mr Michaels' brain into mush,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for any wrong medical information, like I said, just using google at this point. Hope you enjoyed it, new one up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys I'm back, it's been a while but I'm back on it. Hope you enjoy!

Peggy punched the bag, over and over again. She wasn't in the gym this time, she was in the PT room, a room used for rehabilitation. They kept a punching bag in there to build up patients' strength in certain cases.

She was sweating, beads rolling down the sides of her face, her top sticking to her. She promised Liam that she would get the tumour out. She said she would do everything she could. And she did.

But she went too far. And now he may never wake up. He may never be able to talk, eat, breathe. And it was all on her. Steve was right, she was reckless and she destroyed his life.

She was so wrapped up in her own mind that she didn't hear someone enter the room "I never pegged you for the boxing type,"

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Doctor," Peggy responded, still punching the bag, not taking her eyes off of it. Out the corner of her eye, she saw him move around to come hold the bag for her, steadying it in place "Here to disapprove of my choices again? No need, I've done that enough,"

"I'm not here for anything of the sort," Steve simply said as she continued to punch "When was the last time you ate?"

"I'm not hungry," was all she said.

Steve nodded "Okay, when was the last time you slept?"

"I'm not tired,"

"You just pulled off a seven-stage craniotomy over a period of 26 hours, and risked your life in the process, you need to sleep," Steve tried, but it fell on deaf ears. She ignored him "Peggy,"

She stopped, but didn't look at him. She stayed silent for a while, just breathing before she finally looked up at him "I think I mucked up,"

There was no judgement in his eyes, as he looked at her. He just grabbed her hand, and started unwrapping her knuckles for her. He didn't day anything, he knew there was nothing that he could say to her to make her feel better right now.

"Let's go get something to eat,"

* * *

"I feel rather foolish," Peggy said, walking through the streets of LA, burritos in-hand. She was still in her gym clothes, and he was in his regular clothes that he wears to and from work. A t-shirt and jeans.

"We knew it was a risky surgery going in," Steve tried to ease her mind. But Peggy wasn't having it.

"He wanted it out," Peggy said "All of it, damn the consequences,"

Steve nodded slightly "That's why you didn't stop,"

Peggy nodded and sighed "I knew I shouldn't have listened to him,"

Steve stayed quiet for a moment, before saying "I had just got my navy blues, my first year as an attending, there was a bus accident, one of the metal poles had gone through two strangers facing back to back," Peggy looked up at him briefly as he spoke "The problem was that we couldn't get the pole out without one of the dying. We knew straight away we couldn't save them. One of them was a young girl, 22 years old, right outta college. The other was an man in his mid-40s, Harrison, he had three kids and a husband at home, waiting for him,"

He paused and took a breath, Peggy looking over at him softly "The girl, Lucy her name was, she begged me to save the other man. She said that if he left this world, so many people would hurt, and may never recover. But if she left this world, sure people may hurt, but they'd move on," he paused again, glancing at her quickly "So we couldn't save her, we let her die, and we saved Harrison, and not a day goes by where I don't think of that day, not a day goes by where I wonder where she would be today if we'd managed to save her,"

Peggy gave him a small, grateful smile. Knowing he was only trying to make her feel better about her decision "Thank you, Steve,"

"Sure," he replied, a small smile of his own resting on his face. He looked at her for a moment as she looked ahead, not really able to take her eyes off her. She screamed class. Even doing the simplest things, like walking and eating, she was incredibly elegant. He was learning that she was hard on herself at times, and her ego never got in the way.

The wind blew back her hair slightly, and the California sun glowed against her face. He didn't even think that was possible for a human. Maybe she wasn't.

Steve cleared his throat, looking away from her and taking a bite out of his burrito.

Dammit. Now he really likes her.

* * *

"She has guts, I'll tell you that," Sam said to Steve as he joined him at the nurses station, both looking through the glass into Liam's room. They could see Peggy just sitting in the chair next to the bed of the boy who still hadn't woken up "She risked her own life for that kid, and it might not even be worth it,"

Steve hummed in agreement "She's not what I imagined,"

"I like her," Sam simply said, glancing at Steve as he just watched her through the window "I wasn't sure yesterday when she pulled the stunt that almost killed him, but after the final stage, she's earned my respect,"

"And if he doesn't wake up?" Steve asked him.

Sam paused slightly "He will,"

"How do you know?"

"I have faith," he said softer "He's strong, and after everything he's been through, it would be a shame if he didn't,"

Steve nodded and sighed slightly, he really hoped that the boy woke up. Not only for his sake but for Peggy's. Steve doubted she'd ever forgive herself if he didn't.

"I think you pushed her buttons with the army question though," Sam said, glancing at him one more time "I've never seen anyone clam up so quick,"

"Yeah, well, some people just don't like to talk about it," Steve shrugged a shoulder, understanding.

Sam smirked at him, giving him a slight nudge "You like her,"

Steve's eyes went wide, looking at his friend "I-wha-n-"

Sam laughed at him quietly "Relax, I'm messing with you, man," he said, making Steve chuckle and shake his head at him "But I can see it,"

And with that, Sam walked off.

Steve sighed. Yeah, that was the problem. He could see it too.

* * *

She sat by his bedside, just watching him and his vitals. Nat had managed to convince Mrs Michaels to go home and get some rest and come back in a couple hours when Liam was more likely to be awake.

That was if he ever woke.

There was a knock at the door, and Peggy looked up to see Jemma open the door and pop her head in "Doctor Carter?"

"Doctor Simmons," Peggy gave her a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and waved her in. Jemma quickly slipped in and shut the door behind her "You've come to check up on his vitals?"

Jemma nodded "Any update?"

Peggy sighed and shook her head "Unfortunately no, at this point I'm not really sure I want one,"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Jemma gave her a reassuring smile as she looked over the charts and monitors.

Peggy looked at her for a moment "Where are you from?"

Jemma shifted on her feet as she was asked the question. Obviously nervous to be asked questions by the other woman "Uh, Sheffield,"

"Sheffield," Peggy said, interested "That's a long ways from here, how did you end up in Los Angeles?"

"I received a scholarship to Harvard University when I was 15, and all I ever wanted to be was a surgeon," Jemma replied, tucking her hair behind her ear, clearly still nervous "When I graduated medical school, I was accepted into the Shield program," she shrugged a little "Not really much of a story,"

Peggy chuckled "I imagine you're a lot more interesting than you might believe,"

"I know you grew up in London, you studied and Oxford before completing your residency here," Jemma started, looking everywhere else in the room but at Peggy "You became the youngest neurosurgeon attending in America, and you've completed the most successful surgeries on 'inoperable tumours' in history," Peggy nodded, taking in all the information.

"Well, at least I know you do your homework," Peggy responded.

Jemma hesitated before she spoke again "I also know that you were recruited to the army for a while,"

Peggy paused, looking at her, before taking in a deep breath through her nose and looking away "Yes, well, sometimes you have to do what you have to do,"

Jemma nodded quickly and continued doing what she was doing, before leaving the room. Peggy looked up after her and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly. She was an odd one that one, she was interesting. She was younger than the rest of the residents, and she was very quick.

She sat there for another two hours, until Melinda came and dragged her out of the room to go get a cup of tea. She'd been gone for a bit over an hour when she got a page from Jemma, telling her Liam was waking up. She ran as fast as she could to the room, walking straight over to the boy who was still just coming out of his haze of sleep.

Mrs Michaels had returned not long before, so she was at his bedside, holding his hand as he woke up.

"Liam, can you hear me?" Peggy asked him, as she walked to the other side of the bed, just waiting a minute to see what was happening before she did anything.

Liam made a noise, at which they couldn't tell what he was trying to say "Liam?"

"So loud," was all he said. A smile grew on Peggy's face as he formed the words, that meant his brain was in tact so far.

Mrs Michaels let out a laugh of relief as tears started to form in her eyes, clutching at her boy's hand.

Peggy grabbed his hand in her own "Liam, can you squeeze my hand as hard as you can for me?" she asked, testing his gross motor movements. She moved down to the end of the bed, lifting the blanket up and putting her hands on the soles of his feet "And can you push against may hands?"

He pushed against her hands, making her smile slightly as she grabbed out her reflexive hammer from her coat pocket and tapping at his knees. They jerked upwards, one at a time as she hit them.

So far, so good.

Peggy started to relax as she spoke to him "How are you feeling, Liam?"

Liam groaned slightly before responding "My head feels like it has a hole in it,"

"Well, that would be because there is one," Peggy chuckled at him, looking at him as he kept his eyes closed "That hole is where your tumour was,"

"You got it?" Liam asked her, a sleepy smile forming on his face.

"We did," Peggy responded "It took a while but we got it all,"

His smile grew "Thank you,"

Peggy just returned his smile, even though his eyes were still closed "Alright, Liam, can you open your eyes for me?"

He just grunted, but did it anyway. Peggy grabbed the small flashlight from her coat pocket, turning it on and shining it in his eyes.

Her smile faded.

"They won't open," Liam said, making Mrs Michaels frown.

"Liam, your eyes are open, honey," she said to him.

There was a long pause, and Peggy just kept shining the light back and forth in his eyes "Liam, what do you see?" she asked.

"Nothing," he responded, and Peggy turned the light off, her eyes wide and her eyebrows furrowed "I can't...I can't see anything,"

* * *

Peggy felt like she was going to be sick. He was completely blind, and she had no idea if he'd ever get it back. There was nothing she could do to fix it. Mrs Michaels had screamed at her. For a very long time.

She blamed her for everything. And Peggy just took it, because she blamed her too. Eventually, Natasha had managed to calm her down and took her back inside the room with Liam, leaving Peggy outside. Everyone had stopped to look, but Peggy didn't care, this wasn't about her, it was about Liam. The boy she had just blinded.

She wandered off down the hallways of the hospital, her mind numb. She needed to sit down somewhere, anywhere. Her hand reached out, trying to lean against the wall as she walked, not able to stabilise herself. What had she done?

Her breathing was shallow, like she couldn't catch her breath. And her eyes darted from side to side, but not actually looking at anything.

She felt a soft hand on her arm, gently guiding her along until they were inside an on-call room. She didn't see who it was until she turned her head to see Tony standing there, locking the door behind them.

As soon as he turned back around and her eyes met his, hers started to burn. Tears pooling, ready to fall at an instant. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her breath hitched in her throat, not being able to speak or move.

Tony stepped forward, pulling her towards him as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She fell into him, her head on his chest, her hands clutching at his scrubs as her tears started to fall. She let out a sob as he put his hand on the back of her head, holding her close.

He didn't say anything, there was no point. He'd only ever seen her like this once before, and they didn't ever talk about that. Sure she'd taken her losses hard, it was hard not to, especially when you're Peggy. But this one was different, she'd clearly grown attached to Liam.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes before Peggy's breathing slowed and she was no longer shaking with sobs, a stray tear rolling down her cheek every now and again.

"I did this," she whispered.

"You did what you had to do," Tony replied, neither moving from their current positions.

"I destroyed him,"

"You saved him," Tony responded, turning his head into her slightly so he was talking into her hair, right by her ear "You hear me? You saved him."

Peggy closed her eyes, taking a breath before opening them and pulling back from him. She looked up at him with a small smile on her face, one that didn't quite reach her eyes, but told him she was grateful.

"You're a good man, Anthony," Peggy told him, patting his chest lightly. Tony grinned proudly and Peggy rolled her eyes slightly, her face slightly amused as she pulled back "Don't let it go to your head,"

"I wouldn't dare,"

* * *

Steve had come back from checking on patients, and was at the nurses station completing his charts. He'd heard the news about Liam, which in hindsight, was a great result considering the circumstances.

Although Liam's mother didn't see it that way. But how could she? Her son had just lost her eyesight, and may be blind for the rest of his life.

Peggy must be crushed. He wanted to go check on her, see if she was okay. Maybe he'd bring her a coffee. Or maybe she would feel like he was overstepping. But it was just coffee...what could it hurt?

He walked downstairs to the coffee cart out the front and greeted the barista with a smile. After ordering the two coffees, one for him and one for Peggy, he made his way upstairs. He knew she wouldn't be too far from Liam's room, even after the show he'd heard about in the hallway.

He made his way up to the floor and stepped off the elevator, walking down the corridor. Just before he hit the nurses station, his eyes caught movement out to his left. He looked across, seeing Peggy come out of an on-call room.

A smile lit up his face, and went to step forward with the coffees, but before he could he stopped. Because someone followed her out of that same room. Someone named Tony Stark.

The smile fell from his face, and he took a step back, looking at her slightly out-of-place hair as she straightened her scrub top. Tony's hand was on her back as he whispered something in her ear, making her smile before he kissed her cheek and went in another direction.

Steve's heart dropped as he looked down at the two coffees in his hand. He sighed, throwing them both in the bin as she started to make her way in this general direction. Before she had a chance to notice him, he'd disappeared.

Clearly, she was doing just fine.

* * *

Peggy took a breath as she knocked on the door of Liam's room. Mrs Michaels stood up defensively from her sleeping son's bedside.

"What are you doing here?" she asked harshly.

"I've come to check on Liam," Peggy said calmly "I need to check his vitals,"

Mrs Michaels shook her head violently "No, you're not getting anywhere near him," she said "We want a different doctor,"

"Mrs Michaels-"

"No!"

"Mom..." a quiet croak from the bed pulled their attention to him "Stop it...please,"

"No, honey, we're getting a different doctor," Mrs Michaels said, returning to the other side of the bed to hold her sons hand.

"Mom, please stop," he said quietly, begging her " _Please,_ " he whispered.

She glanced back over at Peggy, who was standing quite uneasy in the doorway, before she squeezed Liam's hand and sat back down.

"Thank you," he responded.

It took a few seconds for Peggy to register that she was allowed in to check on him, and she moved slowly towards him "Liam, how are you feeling?"

"Tired," he said, a small grin landing on his face.

"Yes, that may last a few days," Peggy said grabbing her stethoscope from around her neck and holding it in her hands to warm it up "You were under anaesthesia for quite a long time, it may take a while to metabolise from your system,"

"Does that mean I get to sleep for the next few days?" Liam asked, his face looking hopeful, making his mother chuckle and Peggy give a small, genuine smile.

"It does," she responded "Liam, I'm going to check your breathing and your heartbeat now, so I'm going to put my stethoscope on your chest,"

"I know the drill," said Liam "Do your thing, Doc,"

Peggy checked his vitals, asking his various questions every now and again about how and what he was feeling, but other than that the room was quiet.

"Alright, all done," Peggy said "You seem to be pulling through quite nicely,"

"Yeah, I can see it on your face," Liam said. The two women in the room went silent and stiff, making Liam grin "That was a joke,"

"Well it wasn't funny," Mrs Michaels said, still holding his hand.

Peggy bit the inside of her cheek, keeping herself from smiling "I'll be back to check on him in another couple of hours," she said to her, starting to step back.

Mrs Michaels nodded, still not comfortable with her being there but not as aggressive as before.

"Peggy?" Liam called her back before she could leave. She turned back to see him with his hand out, wanting her to take a hold of it. She made her way back towards him, glancing at his mother. She seemed stiff, but didn't object, so she took it "I just wanted to say thank you, for keeping your word,"

Peggy softened, her voice following suit "Liam, I'm so s-"

"No, please," he cute her off "Don't apologise, not for this," he gestured to his eyes "I'm next in line for a heart, and when I get it, I'm outta here," he smiled, his eyes filling with tears of joy "I get to do things I never would've been able to do, I get to live outside of this hospital and I can't be happier right now,"

Peggy couldn't help but feel her own eyes burn and covered his hand with her own, so she was holding it in between "You are a very brave young man, you know that?"

"Eh, what can I say? I take after my mom," Liam shrugged, and Mrs Michaels softened at her son.

"Oh, baby," she said, leaning forward and hugging him tight.

Peggy smiled as she backed out of the room. Liam has eased her mind, not completely, but enough. She looked back through the window, at the two Michaels' and smiled.

Yeah, he was going to be just fine.


End file.
